


End Times

by MyWayOrNoWay



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Age Difference, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Broke Jaw Ranch, Childhood Friends, Eventual Smut, Everyone is probably ooc, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Loss of Virginity, Love Triangles, Mostly Fluff, Obsessive Behavior, POV Third Person, Possessive Behavior, Pre-Apocalypse, Unrequited Crush, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:40:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28904283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyWayOrNoWay/pseuds/MyWayOrNoWay
Summary: In Which the apocalypse brings back Troy Ottos best friend
Relationships: Troy Otto/Original Female Character(s), Troy Otto/You
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Miller family move onto the Ranch

𝟼𝟺𝟸𝟺 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜

Troy was 6 when Amelie first came to the ranch, she was so small barely a few months old. He wasn't allowed to hold her, not that he wanted to, at the start anyway. Her parents were the perfect doting people and Troy found himself jealous of this small baby girl.

She didn't deserve any of the unconditional love she received, she did nothing but eat and sleep. She never cried though, always the silent babe, her mother bragged about it all the time, "She's perfect," She would say, "She's gonna be a wonderful woman," She would say,

Jerimiah would always chime in when her mother said that, pointing out that she would be a good wife if she stayed quiet all the time, Troy could agree with that, her father didn't like the comments very much.

Troy was sure that he would never like the baby, she was so breakable and she didn't - couldn't - pull her weight, she wasn't worth the effort he thought.

That was until Jake offered to babysit the girl, saying that he and Troy weren't doing anything, so it wasn't any trouble. Troy thought it was a whole lot of trouble, all he wanted was to stay away from the girl.

But however it happened, Troy ended up holding the 7-month-old in his arms as his brother was in the kitchen. She had gorgeous eyes he noticed, the bright piercing green that neither her parents had, in a cheesy almost cringe-worthy way, Troy felt loved, staring into the innocent eyes of Amelie Miller.

Jake didn't comment on the sudden change in his brother's attitude, at first, he worried that Troy was going to drop her, maybe break something like Troy had with the chickens that were in the pen outside. The older Otto was glad to see that Troy liked the baby, knowing that she and her family weren't going anywhere any time soon.

Troy found himself smiling at the small baby, holding her in one arm while his finger trailed her chubby features, Amelie's hands grabbed onto his finger and he didn't object when she brought his finger up to teeth on.

Jake had given her the paci after that, and Troy was content to keep her in his arms until her parents had shown up. Both of them were surprised when the 7-year-old Troy opened the door with their baby in his hands.

There was an air of caution around the house, Jerimiah watching his son carefully from the stairs. The 3 adults expected the boy to drop the baby girl, and her mother's heart raced as she stared at the young boy.

Jerimiah had told them when they first arrived at the ranch that Troy was a temperamental child, anger issues and he had told them about the chicken mutilation, so naturally, the parental instincts kicked in as they watched their baby.

"Hey, Troy. I'd thought you'd be in bed kiddo," Mr Miller kept a tight smile, and Troy wasn't stupid, he was quite smart for his age and the previously calm feeling the baby in his arms provided was washed away by the parents.

He knew exactly what they thought of him, but killing chickens was one thing, but Troy didn't want to hurt Amelie, not like he was curious about the chickens. He was curious about her too, but he wasn't curious about how she worked, no he was curious about her, about what she would be like when she was older.

"I wanted to make sure that Amelie was ok, Jake said that it was ok." Troy's face fell into a frown as he spoke, and Mrs Miller glanced at her husband, "'Course that's ok, sweetie. We're just tired is all. Just want to take Amelie and get some sleep,"

Troy looked at the sleeping baby before back at the kneeling mother, he liked holding her, he liked having her depend on him, he was in control of her life at this moment, he could drop her and she was hit the floor or she could move his arm and suffocate her. He liked that she was so trusting in him.

"But she's sleeping now," Troy stated, jerking his head to show that he was right. Jake had stood up from his seat when Mr Miller looked at him,

"And I bet you're mighty comfy," Mrs Miller smiled at him, "But it's late and if we don't get her into her crib soon she's not gonna be able to see you tomorrow," Mrs Miller reasoned and Troy narrowed his eyes at the woman,

Mrs Miller released a breath when Troy relinquished his hold on the baby, giving her back to her parents with a glare and scowl.

"Thank you, sweetie," Troy's scowl only deepened at the pet name, and Mrs Miller seemed to notice his bad reaction before she left.

Troy watched them walk away before the door closed and he clenched his hands at his side.

𝟸𝟾𝟺𝟽 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜

Troy never wanted her to leave his side, she was so bright and bubbly and she always loved him. Despite what his mother said, what his father said and what his brother thought, Amelie never once strayed from him.

She was so young and naive, she held him in such high regard and he would kill if anyone ruined that for them. Her mother hated him, he learned that quickly, if she had her way then he would be put in a mental hospital and Amelie wouldn't be anywhere near him. Ever.

He couldn't help but feel a little smug every time Amelie found her way to him, and of course, once she was near him, he didn't let her leave. He held her hand most of the time, of hand his hand on the back of her head because she was so small compared to him.

He was 16 now, he knew exactly what he was doing, but sweet innocent Amelie, his Amelie, just wanted his attention, some times it was a fight for her attention, she adored Jake just as much as she did Troy, but his older brother was away now, into the big city, so he had her full attention.

He bent down behind her, his hands were massive on her shoulders. "Relax, sweetheart. It's not gonna hurt you," Amelie scoffed, focusing on the target in the field,

"Tell that to Mike's shoulder," She retorted and Troy squeezed her shoulders as a warning. What happened to Mike's shoulder wasn't the gun, although the fact he had been using the massive shotgun did help with the cover-up story, instead Mike had gotten into a fight and Troy might've shoved him just a little too hard, by accident of course.

"Since when were 10-year-old's so sassy? I miss my sweet 9-year-old Ammie," Amelie dropped the gun and turned around to face him, a glare on her face that wasn't so impressive, 

"I'm not being sassy, you said that Mike hurt his shoulder with the shotgun and now you're teaching me how to use a pistol," Troy looked at her, one hand moving to smooth her hair, "I won't let you get hurt, and a pistol is much smaller than a shotgun; not as powerful," 

Troy guided her to turn around again, pulling her arms up and making sure her posture was correct, "Feet apart," He murmured gentle, nudging her foot with his own. 

Once her posture was ok, the 16-year-old moved back, allowing her space, "Breath out when you pull the trigger," He said when he noticed her holding her breath, she did as told, flinching at the loud noise but recovered quickly when she noticed the hole on the target, 

"I hit it!" She grinned at him and he couldn't help but mimic her, "See, your mother knows nothing," Troy took the gun off her while he spoke, and he stiffened when she hugged him but wrapped his arms around her before she could pull away,

"You're a natural," He spoke into her hair, his eyes scanning the area while her head was buried in his chest. He noticed her mother and father watching them from their little cabin, and he couldn't help the victorious grin that covered his face,

"Amelie!" Her mother shouted, obviously not impressed with her choice of company, "I need you to help me with the laundry," Amelie muttered something to herself before pulling away from Troy, who reluctantly let go of the young girl


	2. Chapter 2

𝟷0𝟿𝟻 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜

Troy lifted Amelie the last part of the cliff, having had his fun laughing at her for not being able to climb up the cliff. "You're gonna need to grow a bit if you want to come up here more." Troy teased, and Amelie punched him in the shoulder,

"You're just really tall, you asshole." Amelie grumbled, "And besides, even if I can get up here on my own, I'd still get you to help me," She grinned at the older man, who shook his head at her,

"And why would I help you?" He asked, moving to sit down at the edge of the cliff, a safe distance from the edge but close enough to look over the large lake and mountains, Amelie sat down beside him, rolling onto her back to look up at the sky,

"Because you're awesome and amazing?" Troy glanced at the girl, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Ammie," Amelie looked over at him, her arms shielding her eyes from the sun, "I'm not flattering you. And stop calling me Ammie, you know I hate it," 

Troy shrugged at the girl, leaning back to look back at the sky with her, "I like it, you only don't like it cause you think you're cool,"

Amelie leaned up on her elbows as she talked, giving him a faux glare, "I am cool, you're the uncool one," 

Troy get shook his head, "I never said I was cool, you're the one making claims about yourself," As Troy laid fully onto his back, Amelie scooted closer to him, resting her head on his stomach, her head moving with his gentle breathing and calm heartbeat.

"Stop making such good points. It's not fair," She grumbled and Troy laughed, "Life's not fair, sweetheart," Amelie narrowed her eyes at him, sticking her tongue out at him in reply.

The two sat in silence for a while, both of them looking up at the sky. It was a comfortable silence; one they both enjoyed.

"Hey, Troy?" Amelie asked, sitting up so she could look at him better. He hummed in reply, not moving his arm from over his eyes, "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

Troy just shrugged, "Never thought about it," He moved his arm to look at the 15-year-old, "Why?" He asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as thoughts ran through his head. She wouldn't leave him, she couldn't leave him. He wouldn't let her, she was safe with him after all, he could protect her better than anyone else could.

"My mom asked me yesterday and I wanted to know where you would go," Troy's chest tightened at the mention of the woman who hated him, he was going to kill her, he knew that she never liked this place, always talking about a nice house on the beach or a place in Brazil or Mexico.

"Where would you go?" He asked, sitting up on his elbows to watch her. Amelie shrugged, "I dunno. I'd like to travel, I guess." Troy nodded at her, "You would leave me?" He asked quietly, and Amelie's eyes widened,

"That's-That's not what I meant," She spluttered, "I wouldn't - I don't -" She tried to explain herself and Troy knew that she wouldn't leave him, but a little part of him needed to reassure the fact. She wasn't allowed to leave the ranch, he made that clear to her parents.

"I know what you meant, just-" Troy explained and Amelie understood, she wasn't blind, she knew how the others on the ranch looked at him, what they said and what they thought of him. 

"Just needed to make sure," She smiled at him, "I get it," Troy returned the small smile, and Amelie's gaze flickered from his eyes.

"Can I try something?" She whispered after a moment,

She leaned over and it was over as fast as it started, nothing big or passionate but Troy stared wide-eyed at the blushing 15-year-old. 

Before he knew it, she was gone practically running down the steep hill towards her home before he could snap out of his stupor. And once he did, he grinned wide. She had kissed him, of her own free will and he had never been happier.

𝟷0𝟸𝟸 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜

Amelie's whole body shook with the power of her sobs, her hands shaking as they held onto Troy's jacket, he was shaking for the same reason, just a different emotion. He held her close to his chest, not loosening his hold on her while she cried.

"We'll work something out, okay?" He whispered to her, running a hand up and down her back to soothe them both, "I'll talk to my dad, yeah? And you can stay here with me, and everything will be okay," He was mostly talking to himself,

"They-They were talking about-" She hiccuped, sniffing loudly and a small part of her was mocking herself for it, why couldn't she just take it on the chin and get over it? A little part of her knew that Troy didn't really want to deal with her, what normal 21-year-old wanted to hang out with a snotty and cry baby 15-year-old.

Especially after she embarrassed herself a few weeks prior, she told herself that he would rather she left.

"You're gonna stay here, I'm not gonna let you leave," Troy told her, standing up with her in his arms, "You're gonna go get your stuff and you're gonna bring it here, and I'm gonna take care of you," Amelie nodded, wiping her nose with her hand and Troy grimaced slightly, leaning over her to grab a tissue from his table, before offering it to her, letting her throw it in the bin.

Troy grabbed her face, forcing her to focus on him, "Can you do that for me?" Amelie nodded, her green eyes meeting his blue ones and she wasn't a stranger to the anger she saw, she just wasn't used to it being directed at her, "I'm sorry," She whispered and Troy shook his head,

"I'm gonna talk to my dad okay? You go get your stuff," Amelie nodded, waiting for Troy to drop his hands from her face before she left, she learned that he doesn't like it when she ends the contact, feeling like she didn't want to be around him when she did. So after a while, she learned just to let him stop the contact.

Amelie ran through the ranch as quickly as she could, searching her family cabin for her stuff before she realised that it was gone entirely, which meant that it was already in the truck. Amelie panicked the entire way to the car, knowing that her parents were most likely there but hoping that she didn't want to talk to them.

"Amelie," Her mother breathed, and Amelie stiffened, her hand halfway into the truck. "I thought you ran off with Troy," Before she knew what was happening, her mother was hugging her tightly, "We're gonna get out of here, okay?" Her mother told her and Amelie started to cry again,

"I don't wanna go," She sobbed and her mother's heart broke, 

"Oh, sweetie..." Her mother held her tighter, "We're gonna be happier out of here, once his claws are out of you, everything will work out, you'll be happier," Mrs Miller reasoned, 

"I want to stay here, just let me stay here," Amelie begged, and Mrs Miller felt like crying herself, "You don't want to be here baby, it's only going to end of bad for you, he's going to hurt you."

Amelie pulled back from her mother, hurt covering her face as she held her hands to her chest, "You-You're making me leave my home be-because you don't like Troy?" Mrs Miller's heart broke at the betrayal on her daughter's face, "He doesn't have good intentions, he's going to hurt you," 

Amelie backed away from her mother, shaking her head, "He's my friend," She whispered, "Why do you hate him so much?" Amelie's voice was barely heard by her mother,

"Because he's a psychopath," Her mother kept her voice quiet, not knowing where the man was, "And he looks at you like you're his next meal and I don't want you to end up like the animals he finds, I don't want you to be an experiment to him,"

"You think he's going to hurt me? You think the man who has been my best friend since I was a child is going to hurt me?" Amelie asked, keeping a distance between her and her mother, "He's never hurt me,"

"He's going to!" Mrs Miller finally shouted, "I saw you two! On the hill! He's manipulating you and using you and I'm not letting you get-" Her mother stopped shouting the moment Amelie was pulled back into a chest, her body moving with the harsh rise and fall of Troy's breathing,

"You fucking bitch," Troy seethed, and there was a click by Amelie's ear and then a gun was pointed at her mother, "She's not leaving, I'm not letting her," As if to prove a point, he pulled her closer to him, his grip getting tighter.

"Troy..." Amelie whispered, her hands were wrapped around the forearm that circled her chest, having been pined there when he grabbed her,

"You think you can just take her from me?" Troy waved the gun around, but kept it in the general direction of Amelie's mother, "You think you can take her away and fill her head with lies?" Troy's fingers dug into her arms, and Amelie winced, whispering a quiet "ow" which immediately had Troy loosening his hold on her,

"She needs to have a life, Troy," Mrs Miller stated, keeping a calm facade despite her terrified thoughts, "She has a fucking life here, she can stay with me. She's happy with me," Troy was shaking.

He was scared; scared that she was going to leave him, and be happy without him; scared that he was going to be alone and not have anybody to make him feel the way she does. He wasn't going to lose her, and it was fear that was driving his actions.

"Troy!" Jerimiah shouted, "Put that fucking gun down!" The man didn't move when his father approached, keeping his eyes on Mrs Miller and his arm around Amelie, 

"You can leave," Troy said, "But she's staying with me," Troy gestured with the gun to Amelie and she sobbed and flinched and Troy looked down at her,

"Troy, let Amelie go," Jerimiah demanded, holding his own gun towards his son, "You said that they weren't going to leave," Troy moved his aim towards the eldest Otto, "You were just planning on letting her leave and hoping that I wouldn't notice 'till they were miles away!"

Mr Miller had tackled Troy before he had the chance to shoot anyone, forcing all 3 of them to the ground and Mrs Miller raced to grab her daughter from the youngest Otto.

"You fucking asshole!" Troy shouted, profanities and insults being shouted from both men and Amelie watched wide-eyed from her mother's arms.

Troy still had the gun, Amelie realised as he got the upper hand, rolling over so he could slam her father's head into the dirt.

"Troy!" Amelie screamed, and the man paused, looking up at the girl before back to Mr Miller and guilt flooded his entire body, he made her fear him, he scared her. This was on him.

Amelie flinched when he stood up, but he wasn't up for long before he was knocked to the ground with the butt of a gun, his head hitting the ground with a thud before he passed out.

Amelie let her mother guide her into the car in silence, not quite sure how to process what just happened.

Maybe it was better that she was leaving the ranch after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**𝟾𝟽𝟼 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

She said she was fine when they asked her, she assured them that she didn't want anything to do with him but they all knew that was a lie. He was her best friend for 15 years, she wasn't going to replace him for a long time.

She knew that if he had the chance, that both her parents would be dead, that he wouldn't care as long as she didn't leave and she probably should've noticed his behaviour, it was partially her fault, she indulged him. She didn't mean to, but she had.

She realised it was mostly her fault, she wasn't stupid, she knew that there was a reason why some of the men and boys at the ranch had bruises and sometimes broken bones, a reason that wasn't what Troy had told her.

Regardless, she tried to put it behind her. She had been put into a new school, it was a nice school, much bigger than the one she went to before, they had so many different clubs and she found herself always around this small group. They were in the astronomy club, and Amelie became comfortable around them much faster than she thought she would.

She became closest to Annie, a Mexican girl with a fire in her eyes and a strong voice. Not that she minded, it was nice to talk to people that weren't her parents. 

One of the boys, Cameron, lived on the same street as her. He had a head of dark straight hair and dark eyes to match, he was a bright boy and he didn't have a bad bone in him.

It became a daily thing to walk to and from school with him, she liked being around him. That was until he pointed out the familiar truck parked in her driveway.

"Cameron, maybe you should just go home," Amelie suggested, wringing her fingers together and glancing back at her house as if expecting Troy to come storming out the door,

"I guess that means you know them?" Cameron asked, putting his hands in his pockets, "It could just be someone borrowing the truck but yeah, there's gonna be shouting." The door opened and Cameron waved to Mr and Mrs Miller,

"Amelie, we didn't think you'd be home for another while," Mrs Miller told, glancing behind herself but she wasn't on edge, not in the way she would've been if it was Troy that had brought the truck.

"Cameron, as much as we would love to invite you in-" Cameron waved Mr Miller off with an easy smile, "It's no problem, Mr Miller. I'll see you tomorrow, Ams," Cameron waved his goodbye before he left and when Amelie turned around her parents recognised the hopeful look in her eye.

They knew she still loved him, she wasn't just going to forget him as quickly as they hoped for, and it seemed he hadn't any plans of letting them live peacefully.

"Jakey!"Amelie grinned when she saw Jake in the kitchen, running towards her friend and the man hugged the teenager, having missed her in the last 6 months that she was gone. "I missed you," She confessed

"I missed you too, Ammie," Jake grinned at the scowl on her face, "What is with you Ottos and that stupid nickname," Jake just shrugged, his smile staying as she pushed him,

"How's school going? Heard you joined an astronomy club," Jake leaned up against the counter while Amelie shed her bag and coat, "It's fun, it's not the same as it was in the ranch: the sky isn't as clear. And I joined the art club too, Mr Kant said that I had to have at least two,"

Jake smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying the freedom that she hadn't had before, "And that boy outside? What's his name?" Amelie glared at Jake's raised eyebrows and stuck her tongue out at him, "His name his Cameron, and he lives 'round the corner so we walk together," 

Jake nodded his head, giving her a teasing 'Uh-huh,' before speaking "And how's everything else going? You like the house?"

Amelie shrugged, looking around the kitchen, "It's nice and different, but I dunno, it's not the same," 

Jake could understand where she was coming from, "It's gonna take a while to get used to everything, but I bet you're enjoying the space, I know I did." Amelie grinned wide at him, "I have my own room now, and Cameron is allowed to come over and Annie comes over too, and we had a sleepover, we even painted Camerons nails."

She was thriving away from the ranch, Jake smiled at the realisation, she was living life and she didn't have Troy scaring away any of her friends, "And guess what? Cameron said next time we had a sleepover, that we could do his makeup! Troy never let me do his nails or his makeup," Jake stiffened at the mention of his brother, and Amelie noticed,

"Is he okay?" She asked quietly, and Jake nodded, "He's just having a hard time adjusting, he'll be fine," Jake assured and Amelie nodded, "He's not doing anything stupid right?" Jake shook his head,

"No, no, a few arguments with dad but nothing major, he's deadset on you being kidnapped though, Dad's not impressed with him," Jake shrugged and Amelie's face fell, "I'm sorry," She whispered and Jake frowned, 

"Hey, this isn't your fault. Troy's always had his problems, you shouldn't have to worry about him." Jake pulled her back into a hug, "None of this is on you. This is all on Troy, okay?"

Amelie nodded, "Maybe I should talk to him, tell him I'm ok," Jake shook his head, "He needs some time to calm down, having you call him isn't going to help any. Maybe once everything has settled down, but not right now," Jake reasoned, "Besides, you have friends here, you're going to go far kiddo."

Amelie nodded, "Are you going to come back? I missed you," She asked, and Jake smiled at her, "I can come to visit, yes,"

**𝟾𝟽𝟺 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

Jake had gotten home hours before Troy had gotten back from wherever he went, so he had time to prepare for when the door slammed opened like it just had, "Where is she?" Troy was surprisingly calm, though his hands clenching and relaxing by his sides said otherwise,

"She's safe, Troy." Jake wasn't going to play dumb, he knew better than to try and fool his brother, especially when it came to Amelie Miller, _"Where?"_ He asked, "Fucking where?!" Troy shouted, his fist slamming down harshly on the wall beside him,

"She has made friends, Troy. She joined fucking clubs for the first time, she's thriving without you. So you need to get it through your head that she's not coming back and you need to move on," Jack kept his voice calm, staying in his seat as he spoke,

"She made friends?" Troy asked, all his anger leaving him, "She hasn't replaced you, if that's what you're thinking," Jake replied, "But that doesn't mean you get to track her down and ruin this for her,"

Troy's eyes narrowed at his brother but didn't say anything, "Give her a few years, let her find herself. If she still wants to, she'll come back when she's 18," Jake reasoned,

"Your lawyer is coming through," Troy grumbled, "You say that like she is going to come back, her parents hate me, they've been filling her head with lies for years and now I can't stop them,"

Jake shrugged, "She's a smart girl Troy, you should give her more credit,"


	4. Chapter 4

**𝟻𝟷𝟷 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

Troy smiled at the postcard that he had gotten a few days prior, Jake had given it to him after he had blacked out the return address and while it annoyed Troy, he didn't comment on it.

Inside the letter was a card, filled with Amelie's writing, telling him about what was going on in her life, she told him about how she was finding school and how she had joined the astronomy club.

She put a drawing in the card, a good one of him and on the back was a small messy note "Sorry if it's bad, Cameron said you'd like the effort" He did like it, it was an amazing drawing. It was put in his pocket.

She kept talking about how she was going to show him all the other drawings she did, how she was going to drag him up the cliff (she said that she was tall enough to climb it by herself now) so she could teach him about the constellations.

She was going to come back, Troy smiled, she hadn't forgotten about him and she hadn't moved on. No, she said that she was going to come back to him and Troy couldn't wait.

She complained about how much she hated chemistry and how she thought some people at school could do with learning manners. She told him about her sleepovers with Annie and Cameron and how they were going on a trip to New York in a few days.

She wished him Happy Birthday and said that Jake would give him her present if he asked politely, she said that she missed him and he knew that even if she didn't say it, that she forgave him for the way he acted on the day he left.

She said that he owed her a drawing in return, but that he had till she came to visit to practice. 

She had doodled all over the card and then at the very end, there was a 'p.s. Annie thinks you're cute. I told her you were annoying.'

She got him a bracelet, green, white and black thread weaved together and he smiled as he ran his fingers over the item.

**𝟸𝟿𝟸 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

Cameron, Annie and Amelie were all laying around the living room, laughing hard and Annie kept throwing chocolate wrappers at the both of them. They had just watched 3 twilight movies and were just having fun.

"I don't understand," Cameron wheezed, "Why didn't she think he was frosty the snowman? That's what I would've thought."

"Why would she think he was frosty the snowman?" Annie laughed, throwing another wrapper at their male friend, "Anaemic, sure. But Frosty? Really?" 

Amelie laughed, "Are you on something?" She asked, her stomach hurting from laughing so hard, "I'm not on anything!" Cameron defended, "I'm just stating a valid point," He waved his hand around randomly,

"Valid my ass," Annie snorted, which made Cameron and Amelie laugh harder, "No, nevermind Ed the creep. Let's talk about Jake!" Amelie cringed, "Every time you say 'Jake' I picture my friend and it makes everything you say so much worse,"

Annie's eyebrows wiggled, "Ok then, not Jake. How about Jared? Oh! Or Paul!" Cameron nodded, "They could be my sugar daddies anytime," Amelie threw her head back laughing hard, "Cam! Oh my God!" 

"Not if they're mine first!" Annie retorted, putting more chocolate in her mouth as she spoke, "You can have Sam and Emily, then your bisexual ass can be happy," 

"Ooh," Cameron said, "A sugar Mommy and Daddy. I'd be set for life!" Amelie scoffed, smacking his arm, "You act like you're not getting straight 'A's," 

"A dude needs a backup plan, Ams," Cameron sassed, and Annie just nodded, "Yeah, like how I'm gonna run off and become a stripper in Brazil if my life goes bad,"

The doorbell rang and Amelie looked at her friends, "I thought you were staying over?" They had set up the second mattress in Amelie's bedroom for Cameron to sleep on. That was the one rule in the sleepovers: Cameron had a separate bed.

"We are," Cameron replied, sitting up as Amelie went to look through the curtains, "It's Jake," Annie sat up, "Doesn't he have a key?" She asked she knew he had a key after they were home alone in Amelie's house and he opened the door and scared the life out of all of them. 

"Yeah..." Amelie stood up from the sofa, walking over to the door. "He does," Cameron and Annie followed after her, "Jake? Where's your key?"

"Where're your parents, Ammie?" Jake asked, "Uh... Their bedroom?" Amelie glanced at Annie and Cameron who just shrugged at her, "Nothings wrong if that's what you're worried about, I just need to talk to them." 

Amelie let him in, closing and locking the door behind him, "Weirdo," Annie muttered and Cameron laughed, lifting the tense atmosphere.

"Alright then," Amelie said, "Since they want to keep secrets, let's raid the fridge and die of chocolate,"


	5. Chapter 5

**𝟹 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

Cameron, Annie and Amelie were sat in class when the principal started talking through the speakers, Cameron and Amelie were in the same class while Annie was in french across the hall.

Their teacher had told them to leave all their bags in the class but as per usual, everybody started packing their bags instead of leaving the classroom.

"Your parents will pick you up, they have all been called and if they cannot arrive, arrangments have been made." The principal spoke and Cameron's hand grabbed Amelie's.

"Stay with me?" He whispered to her, and she nodded, "Teachers have been given the names of children leaving with people other than parents. If your name is called, please find the allocated parents or child." Amelie's hand squeezed Cameron's.

The teacher called various names, some children cheering while others stayed quiet. "Cameron James, you're to go with Amelie Miller. Amelie, you will also be taking Annie Claire with you,"

Cameron would have usually been over the moon to be going home with Amelie, he loved being around her and Annie, but the panic bubbling in his chest over-shadowed the excitement and joy.

"We'll be okay, Cam. They'll sort everything out soon enough," Amelie smiled at her friend, and he gave her a shaky one back, "Let's get Annie, then we can find my mom and dad." Cameron let her lead him through the crowd, finding Annie quite quickly despite the chaos.

"Annie! You know you're coming with us right?" Amelie shouted over the ruckus, "Yeah! Can you just drop me home? I'd rather find my parents," Amelie nodded, grabbing her hand and leading the both of them through the hallways.

Every so often, Cameron would squeeze her hand and she squeezed back to reassure him silently. Outside was much calmer, people finding their parents very quickly and Amelie was quick to notice that Jake was with her parents.

"Jake! Mom! Dad!" She shouted, and all 3 adults looked relieved to see the teenagers.

"Thank goodness, you three are okay." Amelie's mother hugged each one separately, kissing her daughter on the forehead before pulling away.

"Let's get you two home, shall we?" Mr Miller was much better at faking a calm than Mrs Miller, but neither of them could compare to Jake's faux calm if Amelie hadn't known him all her life she would've thought that he knew exactly what he was doing.

The 3 youngest got into the back of Jake's pickup truck, all sitting listening to the wind while he drove to Annie's house. 

"You know that we should go back to the ranch," Jake brought up to Mr and Mrs Miller as they drove, "My dad's prepared for this sort of thing, to an extent." The Millers shared a look, knowing that he was right.

The safest place for their daughter was probably the least safe for them, "Troy won't hurt you, he was just hurt," Jake kept his eyes on the road, "His goal is to keep her safe, and in his eyes, you were hurting her,"

"She doesn't look hurt to me," Mr Miller scoffed, "But you're right, we have no supplies, hell we don't even have a gun," 

Mrs Miller was stiff in her seat, watching Annie's street appear in front of her, "Why couldn't she have had a normal life?" Jake sighed, seeing the tears build in the woman's eyes.

Pulling into the driveway, Annie's dad came out, ushering the eldest girl into the house while the teens shouted their goodbyes.

Cameron lifted his arm when he saw the distraught look covering his friends face, allowing her to scoot into his side and lean her head against his shoulder.

"As you said, everything is gonna be ok," Cameron said over the wind and she nodded against him, Mr Miller opened the window between them.

"Amelie?" He asked, and Amelie lifted her head to look at him, "Jake thinks that we should go to the ranch until this blows over," Amelie sat up fully, "Really?" Cameron frowned at the excited tone,

"We're just worried about... you know..." Mr Miller's eyes shifted from his daughter to his daughter's best friend, Mr Miller wished that his daughter didn't have to grow up where she did, he wished that she got to grow up with Cameron, a better person than the person she adored in every way.

"Of course that's what you're worried about," Amelie muttered, "It was your fault anyway," She leaned back into Cameron's arms for the rest of the ride,

When Jake pulled up outside Cameron's house, there was an unsettled feeling in the air, "I'm going to go in with you," Jake said, getting out of the car as Cameron climbed over the edge, "Amelie, I need you to pack a bag, everything you need. Try to keep light, it's a long drive to Broke Jaw and you'll have to sit in the back with the stuff,"

Amelie nodded, hugging Cameron quickly and whispering a 'stay safe' before running into her house to pack her bag.

She grabbed her clothes and threw on a long-sleeved flannel to protect her shoulders during the ride. Once her clothes were neatly packed into the backpack, she grabbed her sketch pad, and her wash stuff, making sure to put all of her stuff in there. She decided against the makeup, sacrificing it to make sure she had enough space for snacks.

She went into the kitchen to see that her parents' bags were sat by the door, ready to go when she was. Amelie made sure to put all the chocolate into her bag, before grabbing the rest of the energy bars that they had for breakfast.

When she left the house, her heart broke seeing Cameron leave his. Their eyes met and he shook his head. She dropped the bags into the back of the pickup before hugging her friend,

"They left me," He whispered, "Said that it was everyone for themselves," He sobbed, gripping tight to Amelie as he buried his head in her neck, "They left me," He repeated and Amelie rubbed a hand on his back, just letting him cry with her.

**𝟸 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜**

Amelie was asleep in the back of the pickup, using Cameron's leg as a pillow. The dark-haired boy watched their surroundings pass and Jake sat in silence with him,

"Cameron?" The said boy turned his head, looking at the Otto, humming a response. "There's something you should know before we get to Broke Jaw,"

Cameron didn't say anything as he shifted, on hand resting on Amelie's head while the other supported his head, "My brother, he's quite temperamental," Jake chose his words carefully,

"You mean Troy? Ams told me he was her friend," Jake nodded, "Yeah, it's just... He's protective, especially over Ammie," Cameron raised an eyebrow,

"Are you warning me?" The youngest man asked, "Yeah," Jake said, "Troy's always had issues, but Amelie was always his anchor," Jake sighed, "My little brother has a bad temper, pair that with what he feels for Amelie and you've got a dangerous relationship to everyone."

Cameron narrowed his eyes, "So you're taking me and my best friend to a psychopaths house?" Jake's jaw tightened,

"He's not a psychopath, he's just not had a great childhood. So when you're around him, you need to be careful cause he's only gotten worse without her," Cameron's eyes raked over Jake for a moment, "You think he's gonna feel threatened by me? Why?"

"Troy doesn't like people around Amelie, especially people he didn't know. Most of Amelie's friends were apart of Troy's little group, they knew what to do so that he wouldn't blow-up on them. And you being here, and you being as close to her as you are? Troy's gonna take that as a threat, and you trying to take her away from him? That's a death sentence to him," Jake explained,

Cameron looked down at the girl, "Were they dating? Before she left?" Jake shook his head, "They were just friends, although he made it clear that nobody was to go near her with any sort of romantic intentions,"

"So he wanted to date her? Why didn't her just ask her out?" Jake laughed, "He wanted to, but our dad made him wait till she was 18."

Cameron looked down at the girl, "She's turning 18 soon," Jake nodded, "Troy might be a lot of things, Cameron, but he will respect her decision, even if he doesn't like it," Jake pointed out, and Cameron traced patterns on Amelie's sleeved arm,

"What do you mean?" 

Jake smiled, "I mean that if you ask her out, then Troy will respect her decision. He might be an asshole to you when she's not around, but he wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her."

Cameron paused, "Why did they leave? Nobody likes to talk about it," 

Jake shook his head, "That's not my story to tell,"


	6. Chapter 6

**𝟷 𝙳𝚊𝚢**

Amelie had gotten heat exhaustion from sitting in the back of the pickup and Jake didn't want to risk anything, especially since she threw up after a few bumps in the road.

So they ended up pulling over under some trees, "No, c'mon Ammie, you need to sit up," Jake scolded, helping the youngest Miller sit up despite her great attempts to lay back down, "I know it sucks, but you need water,"

Everyone had gotten out of the truck to stretch or pee, and once Jake made sure that Amelie was in the shade, he had soaked her with a bottle of water. Nobody disagreed with his decision, they had more than enough to get them the rest of the journey, seeing as it was a 4-hour drive left, at most.

"Hey, you feeling any better?" Cameron asked when he got back, "I want to go to bed," Amelie mumbled, leaning her head against Cameron's shoulder when he knelt next to her,

"We're going to have to stay here till she feels better," Jake said, sitting down on the other side and resting his head against the tree behind him,

"Will it pass?" Cameron asked and Mr Miller nodded, "Once she cools down, but even then I think we should leave it a few hours. Maybe wait till dark before we leave," 

Cameron nodded, shifting so that he could sit comfortably, "And you're sure this isn't heatstroke?" He asked, and Jake nodded,

"She's sweating too much for heatstroke, she's pale and her temperature isn't high enough for heatstroke," Amelie grumbled retort and Cameron let her hold the water bottle against her neck, taking occasional sips from it.

They sat there for a few hours till Jake's radio crackled, _"---Boy---- Hear---Company--- up---"_ Jake's eyebrows came together when he recognised Mike's voice, "J-Otto to Mike, Can you read me?" The crackling continued, "J-Otto to Mike, can you hear me?"

The crackling continued before his voice became more clear, _"Mike---breaking---you---"_ Jake stood up, dusting off his trousers, "They were expecting me hours ago," He stated, "Dad's probably sent a team,"

Cameron gently woke Amelie up, who looked much better than she did when they stopped, she stumbled a little when she stood up but she didn't have a fever and colour was coming back to her skin.

"Amelie, you sit in the front, I want to keep an eye on you," Jake said, taking the keys from Mr Miller. 

"Do you think you could take the walkie-talkie?" Amelie looked up surprised, but took the walkie nonetheless, "What do I do with it?" She asked softly,

"You've used a walkie talkie before. Don't tell me you've forgotten?" Amelie smiled at the man, shaking her head, "They're looking for you though," Jake shrugged,

"Mike knows that I went out for you, so he won't panic," Amelie tightened her grip on the walkie, "Does Troy know I'm coming back?" Jake shook his head and Amelie nodded,

"If he knew that I was coming to get you, he would've come with. I didn't want to risk anything," Jake explained, "You mean if I was dead? Or like them?" 

"I didn't want to say it," Jake mumbled and Amelie shrugged, "I get it, Jake."

"How are you feeling?" Jake asked, looking over at the teenager, "Not dizzy anymore, and I don't think I'm gonna throw up all over myself. So that's good," Amelie nodded as she talked,

"Not that I'm not happy you're not sick, but I was talking about Troy. You up to seeing him again?" Jake watched the girl carefully, he knew her like he did the back of his hand,

"I'm not scared of him. He's my best friend, has been since day one. I just don't want him to overreact," Amelie confessed, looking down at her hands,

"Overreact to Cameron, or overreact to how you feel for Cameron?" Amelie shrugged, "I don't know even know how I feel," Jake nodded, "Then tell him that because he'll listen to you, he always has,"

Amelie nodded, thinking to herself, "Jake?" The man hummed, glancing over at the girl, "Nevermind," She shook her head and he didn't question it.

It took them an hour before the radio came through clearly, " _Mike to J-Otto, do you copy?_ " 

"Ammie to Mike, we copy loud and clear," Amelie replied and Jake grinned, "I thought you didn't like that nickname?" Amelie shrugged, "Guess it's grown on me after 18 years," 

_"Mike to Ammie: sounds like everything's going good,"_ Mike's voice came through, _"Troy's gonna be over the moon,"_

"Ammie to Mike, don't tell him, I want it to be a surprise," Amelie was buzzing, she missed the friends she had back at the ranch, it would be nice to see everyone,

 _"Mike to Ammie, copy that. But if you don't want him finding out, I suggest you give the walkie back to Jake,"_ Amelie nodded, holding the walkie up to Jake, "J-Otto to Mike, I'm about half an hour out, one of us has heat exhaustion but other than that, everyone's clear."

Jake had to slow down slightly once Amelie started to look pale again, though she insisted that she was fine, he didn't want to risk anything.

Every time someone started talking over the walkie, Amelie would hold it up and allow Jake to talk, and soon enough the ranch came into view.

"Cam, we're here!" Amelie grinned, turning around in her seat just to find that he had fallen asleep, "Aw. I wanted to show him around!" Amelie complained, before sitting back into her seat as the truck slowed,

"I'm pretty sure that Troy isn't letting you leave his side for a while," Jake joked and Amelie grinned, "Where is he? Can you see him?" 

"Calm down, I'm sure he'll be here soon," Jake shook his head, slowly driving through the gates. 

Troy was one of the first people that Amelie saw, his back was to her, talking to Coop and Mike in his camo gear, "Troy!" Amelie shouted, scrambling out of the car and making a dash to the 25-year-old man,

Troy grinned wide, turning around to see the girl he missed so much, "Hey sweetheart!" He grabbed her tightly, pulling her close to him, Amelie held onto him tightly, trying to catch her breath and move past the sick feeling in her stomach,

"I missed you so much," Amelie said, pulling away just enough to look at him, "Are you sure you grew? Darling," Amelie scowled, "I travel all this way to see you, I suffer through heat exhaustion and I have to deal with Jake for 3 days, just for you to mock my height?"

Troy grinned at her, taking in everything about her, her hair was cut to her shoulders now and she had grown up and filled out but her green eyes, they still had that sparkle they always had when she looked at him,

Amelie just smiled up at him, "You haven't changed much, still the asshole I remember," She kept her smile, and Troy pulled her back into a hug again, burying his face in her neck and Amelie shrieked, "That tickles you asshat!" 

Troy's grinned couldn't have gotten wider if he tried, "And you're still my sassy little Ammie,"

Amelie moved away slightly, her grin fading as she bent over and Troy filled with panic, "Ammie?" He asked, rubbing her back as she dry-heaved, "You're ok, just let it out," He soothed, his eyes searching for Jake.

Amelie collapsed forward and Troy caught her before she hit the ground, "Shit, Ammie. Jake!" Troy slipped his arm under her legs and lifted her up to carry her, "Jake! What the fuck?"

Cameron and the Millers rushed over to Troy with Jake who put his hand on her forehead, "She's got a fever,"

"Yeah, no shit sherlock. What happened?" Troy retorted, adjusting his grip on the girl,

Cameron stepped forward, "Calm down, she had heat exhaustion on the way here, she's overexerted herself," Troy looked the boy up and down, sizing him up before walking away,

"Cameron, meet Troy," Jake sighed as he and Cameron caught up with the youngest Otto, "Troy, she probably just needs to sleep it off," Jake tried to slow down his little brother, "I'm not risking it, Jakey."

When Troy entered the infirmary the one woman in the area straightened, "What happened?" She asked as Troy put Amelie on the bed, "She got heat exhaustion on the way here," Jake explained, "She had gotten better when we arrived, but she ran for Troy, so she probably just needs to sleep it off,"

The woman nodded, and Troy pulled a chair up beside Amelie, "You're probably right, but rather safe than sorry, right boys?" The lady did the usual checks and agreed with Jake's assumption,

"Did Big Otto set everyone up in a cabin yet?" Troy asked, picking up Amelie and the nurse started to argue but stopped when Troy gave her a look.

"Yeah, she's back in her old cabin, Troy, maybe you should let her sleep here, at least then Mags can keep an eye on her," Troy shook his head, "I can keep an eye on her,"


	7. Chapter 7

Cameron learned that Troy did not share well early on. Sure, he played nice, he was a charismatic guy but only when he wanted to, and he usually only wanted to be charismatic around Amelie.

Even when he was with Amelie, he still managed the small things, he would grin smugly when she sat beside him at lunch, or he would grab a hold of her hand when they were walking.

He was an asshole, Cameron learned, and he needed to do something about it because he wasn't sure if he could handle it any longer.

His only issue was finding a time when Troy wasn't around, it seemed that every time that Cameron was with her, Troy managed to appear and distract her.

Troy had his militia to work with, yet he always seemed to worm his way into Amelie's time. He would walk her to her job in the gardens or he would sit at the table with them, and it drove Cameron crazy.

He couldn't confront Troy, especially after seeing him beat a man into the ground after he had been called crazy, Troy never told Amelie what he did, neither did any of the militia.

Jake had told him that Troy would calm down after a while, but after a week of never being with Amelie without Troy, he was starting to doubt that Troy would calm down. 

Troy knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew that it was working. He was getting under Cameron's skin and he couldn't help but be smug about it.

Jerimiah had assigned Cameron to join the Militia after a few days on the ranch, so when Amelie went to help at the gardens with her mother, and her dad went to work in the kitchen, Cameron was left to deal with Troy.

Cameron hated every second of it, Troy was ruthless when it came to training, it seemed no matter what Cameron did, Troy never thought it was good enough which resulted in him doing it over and over and over until Troy deemed it worthy.

Cameron wasn't allowed on any runs until Troy said he was good enough, which Cameron doubted would be anytime soon.

Troy had reluctantly taken half of his group out on a supply run earlier in the morning, much to Cameron's delight and the teen planned to make the most of it even if it was only a few hours.

So, he had woken Amelie up just as the sun rose and forced her to go on a walk with him. She complained at the start, but eventually, she started to enjoy it. If there was one thing he missed about pre-apocalypse, it was having Amelie to himself.

"Cam?" Amelie asked, and Cameron hummed, swinging their intertwined hands, "Do you think Annie's okay?" Cameron paused at the question if he was being honest, he kinda forgot that Annie existed, "Annie's smart, and she's resourceful, I'm sure she's fine,"

"We're never gonna see her again are we?" Cameron looked at the girl, sighing, "You never know, I'd say her dad would make her go to Mexico to find her family. She might pass by this way," 

Amelie looked out at the ranch with a sad look, "We're currently in a ranch filled with racists, you really think she'd want to see us when this is our company?"

Cameron stopped then, turning her so she wouldn't see the Troy returning, "Then we can leave, me and you. We'll find Annie and we'll go west," Amelie looked up at him confused, "But what about my mom, my dad? What about Tr-"

"They don't matter," Cameron interrupted, "They say they want the best for you, yeah? So me and you, we leave, we take some guns, water, a car. We'd be free,"

Cameron's eyes searched hers, "We could have a life, just the two of us," Amelie looked down,

"I don't want to leave my parents, they need me," She whispered and Cameron held her face in his hands, "Talk to them, they can leave with us if they want. I just don't want you to feel trapped here,"

From where Troy stood at the gate, he could see everything and anger bubbled in his chest as he watched Cameron hold Amelie.

"But I can't just leave, that's not fair to-" Cameron leaned closer to her, "You're mom and dad will be fine, they can come with us. As long as we're together, Ams, we could go anywhere you want."

"Anywhere?" Amelie asked, and Cameron nodded "We could steal a boat if that's what you want, Ams." 

Amelie couldn't shake her head with his hands on her head, "I-" Amelie let out a shocked noise when Cameron kissed her, pulling her closer to him. Troy ground his teeth together before turning his back and walking back towards his house.

Amelie pushed against her friend's chest, struggling against his hold, "Cam, Cameron," She pushed away from him, holding her hands up to her chest like she always does when she's scared,

"Why? Why would you do that?" When Cameron took a step forward, Amelie stood a step back, "Because I like you, Amelie, that's why."

"But I didn't want you to," Amelie stated, "You're supposed to ask," She said, "Mom says you're supposed to ask," 

Cameron sighed, annoyed at himself for scaring her, "You're mom also thinks you should wait till marriage for sex, I shouldn't have to ask to kiss the girl I like," 

"You do because I'm not your girlfriend. I didn't want you to kiss me," Amelie stepped back, before turning on her heel and going back to her house, leaving her friend alone.

Troy had decided that he misinterpreted what he saw, he told himself that nothing happened between them and that when he got to dinner, he would see Amelie and he would sit beside her and everything would be fine.

But things weren't fine, because when he got to dinner, neither his Amelie nor Cameron was sitting at any of the tables and Troy's knuckles turned white around his tray.

The tray clattered to the ground, drawing everyone's attention as he marched back to his house.

As soon as Amelie made it back to her small cabin, she locked the door and curled up in bed, not wanting to see anybody at dinner as she wallowed in whatever she was feeling. Part of her was guilty because she just rejected her best friend, a different part of her felt betrayed.

She stayed in her too-large shirt for hours, just staring blankly at the wall.

Troy had knocked on Amelie's door, his hands shaking slightly and he knew that she wouldn't notice the slight red tint to his hands.

"Troy? What's wrong?" Amelie had thrown on her dressing gown but she didn't tie it up, showing the long shirt that she wore to bed.

"He-He's dead," Troy looked down at Amelie, and she moved forward to hug him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him down to meet her, "Do you want to come inside?" He nodded against her shoulder and she slowly guided him inside,

"Who's dead, Troy?" She asked softly, running her hand through his hair when they sat down, "Big Otto," The older man whispered, letting her comfort him even though he knew he didn't deserve it,

"You wanna talk about it?" Amelie kept her voice soft, never once sounding like she was looking for a weakness, "No-no. I just wanted to see you," 

Amelie didn't push him, simply laying down on her bed and letting him get in beside her. "You're in no state to be the big spoon," She rolled onto her back, pushing him down so he was resting his head on her chest, Troy smiled at her slightly, wrapping a large arm around her middle while one of hers rubbed his head and the other drew patterns on his arm.

"I thought Cameron was going to be here when I knocked," Troy whispered, "I thought you were going to turn me away,"

Amelie shook her head, "No, he wasn't here, and even if he was, I wasn't going to turn you away. I'd never turn you away," Amelie ran her hand up and down his arm,

"Please don't leave me, Ammie. I don't want to be alone," Troy begged and Amelie looked down at him, feeling his grip on her tighten, "I'd never leave you, not if I had a choice." She assured, 

"You're not going to leave me?" Amelie held her friend closer to her, "No, Troy, never," She felt Troy shift slightly, allowing him to bury his head in her chest, feeling his tears on her shirt, but she didn't mention it.

"Why do you think I'm going to leave?" Amelie asked, "You know too much for me to leave," She joked and Troy smiled slightly at her joke, "I saw you and Cameron, I know he wants to leave and then you weren't at dinner and I thought..."

Amelie kept running her hands through his hair, "I didn't want to kiss him and I didn't want to leave you," 

"Why not? I'm dangerous, right? Unhinged?" Amelie kissed the top of his head, "Because I'd rather be with you here, because you've never hurt me, and I love you," 

The man stiffened in her arms, "You don't mean that," He said, "Don't I? You're the one who makes me happiest, you've been there for every hard time and you mean everything to me," 

Troy squeezed her tighter, his chest shaking with the effort of keeping in his sobs, "I don't deserve it, I never have," 

"I don't think you get to chose who I give my love to, so if I want to love you, then you're going to have to deal with it," Amelie retorted, looking up at the roof as she spoke,

"I don't want you to think I'm a bad person," Troy said, "You're a good person, Troy," Amelie replied,

"Not after what I did," Amelie forced him to look at her, "What did you do?" Troy shook his head, leaning back down to hold himself closer to her,

"I didn't mean to do it, but now Jake knows and I don't know what to do," Troy defended himself, even though he knew he didn't have to, Amelie wasn't going to kick him out or shout at him.

"Troy... Did you do something to Jerimiah?" Amelie asked, there wasn't any judgement to the question, just worry. "I didn't mean to, but he said that if you wanted to leave then you could and I got angry and the gun was right there..." He breathed and Amelie's breath stopped,

"Please don't hate me," Troy whispered, sensing Amelie's shock, "I couldn't hate you, Troy." Amelie breathed, "I'm just processing," She assured,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shoot him but it just..." Amelie shushed him gently, "You don't need to explain it to me, doesn't mean I like it, but I'm not going to run away from you. I know you won't hurt me,"

Troy relaxed against her, mumbling something into her skin, "What did you say?" Amelie asked and Troy shook his head, "No, I want to know now," Amelie grinned down at him, "What did you say?"

"I said, that you're too good for me," Amelie blushed and Troy rolled over so that he was hovering over his girl.

"When you said you loved me," Troy asked, watching her face for a reaction, "What did you mean?" Amelie smiled at him, "I meant that I'd rather be kissing you," She whispered and Troy grinned down at her,

"Is that permission?" Amelie nodded happily and Troy leaned down slowly, giving her time to stop him before he kissed her.

It was slow and gentle and Amelie couldn't help but smile into the kiss, "I can't kiss you if you keep smiling like that," Troy teased and Amelie couldn't stop the grin, "Sorry, I'm just happy,"

Troy watched her eyes sparkle and gently pecked her lips before sitting up, "I should let you sleep now," Amelie watched him with confusion, sitting up after him and grabbing his arm,

"You're not staying?" Troy wasn't planning on it, he didn't think she'd want him to, "Do you want me to?" Amelie nodded, so Troy slowly got back into the bed,

"If you think that you're going to get away with no cuddles then you're wrong," Amelie mumbled, "I missed your cuddles," 

Troy smiled, letting her curl against his side before he fell asleep with his arms around her.


	8. Chapter 8

When he woke up, Troy forgot where he was. He stayed in the bed for a moment before realising he was alone.

Sitting up, he realised that her side of the bed was still warm, and the bathroom door was cracked open just enough to see Amelie moving around inside.

"Breakfast is in half an hour," Amelie called, "I wanted to let you sleep," Troy watched Amelie as she opened the door wider, "I need to go get changed, and I'll need to explain why I wasn't at training," Troy explained as he got out of the bed, 

"Jake dropped your uniform over," Amelie pointed to the clothes that were draped over the arm of her chair,

"Jake came here?" Troy asked, and Amelie nodded, "He said he wanted to talk to you after breakfast, and before you panic, I said to tell the guys that there wasn't any training. I thought after... everything, you could do with a break,"

Troy nodded, moving silently to get changed into the uniform, "Troy?" Amelie asked, not leaving the bathroom as she spoke, "Yeah?"

"About last night," Amelie started, "What did it mean?"

Troy put the last of his gear on before walking to the bathroom door, opening it so he could watch Amelie finish brushing her hair,

"What do you want it to mean?" He knew exactly what he wanted, he had vivid images in his head of what he wanted with her, but he wanted to hear her say it,

"I liked it," Amelie nodded her head as she spoke, "Are we together now?" Troy grinned wide when she asked, and he shrugged playfully, "Do you wanna date me?" 

Amelie nodded, diverting her attention to other things in the small cabin Amelie called her own. 

Troy's smiled stayed as he grabbed her hand, "C'mon, we've got to get breakfast, _babe_ ," Amelie blushed a dark red and Troy smirked tugging gently on her hand to make her move,

Amelie followed after Troy, a smile on her face as she looked at the ground. Despite her best attempts, Troy could still see the burning of her cheeks.

They dropped their hands when they had arrived at breakfast, but they stayed beside each other as they got their food. Amelie avoided eye contact with Cameron when she saw him sitting at their usual table.

Taking a deep breath, she started walking towards her dark-haired friend, or ex-friend? She wasn't really sure. Troy followed after her, watching the boy carefully.

"Hey," Cameron greeted, and Amelie gave a small smile, "Look, Ams, I'm sorry about yesterday," Amelie smiled at him, sitting down comfortably across from Cameron, 

"It's forgotten about," She said, and while she might've believed it, Troy didn't and Cameron knew that Troy's already large dislike for him had grown. 

Amelie's parents didn't show up for breakfast, but Cameron had said that Mr Miller was in the kitchen, so she just assumed that her mum had gone to the gardens early.

Troy sat closer to her than normal, but it wasn't noticeable, not to anyone that wasn't the pair, and Amelie didn't mind, silently basking in his closeness.

Cameron looked between the two, he wasn't stupid; he knew that Troy liked her, probably more than Cameron did. He knew that Troy would walk down to her cabin before breakfast, the only thing that was bothering him was that the older man had cancelled their training, the same training that he was always claiming was life or death. 

"Why was training cancelled?" Cameron asked and Troy stiffened, "I don't think that's any of your business," Troy regained himself quickly, glaring at the dark-haired boy,

"It is because last I checked, my job is to-" Amelie cut Cameron off, "Troy is allowed a day off Cam, we all are," She said as politely as she could, stopping Troy from doing something drastic while also stopping Cameron from pushing his luck.

Cameron grumbled in reply, focusing on his breakfast while Amelie gently squeezed Troy's thigh before going back to her own breakfast. 

It wasn't long after when Troy spotted Jake, "Ammie, I've got to go, but I'll see you later, okay?" Troy gave Cameron a warning look before Amelie nodded, giving him a smile before he was gone, leaving the two 18-year-olds,

"Then there were two, huh," Cameron joked, and Amelie nodded silently, "I get what I did was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it," he started and Amelie poked the leftover bits of food around her plate,

"But the offer is still open," Cameron stated, "If you want to leave, we still can. And I'll spend forever trying to make it up to you," 

Amelie shifted uncomfortably, "We wouldn't survive out there Cameron, you know that." Amelie still refused to look at him now that the topic had been brought up, "I'd rather take my chances out there, Ams," The boy grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him, "Because in here, we're just going to end up rotting away with racists and bigots breathing down our necks,"

"I don't want to leave, Cameron. I grew up here, and once you get to know everyone, they're not so bad," Amelie looked around, pulling her hand back

"You're kidding, right? Do you realise what being here is doing? You're bending over backwards for people who think you're nothing more than an object!" Cameron claimed, his voice rising slightly but not enough to attract attention,

"I'm more than an object to these people Cameron, I grew up with them. They're my friends; family." Amelie stood up, gathering her things, "And if you don't like it, you're free to leave. It just won't be with me,"

Amelie walked away, feeling proud of herself for speaking her thoughts, even though deep down, she knew that Cameron was probably right. She knew the kind of people she grew up with weren't great, but they didn't have bad intentions, not all of them at least.


End file.
